Switch.



W. J. NEWTON.

SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED 11011.15, 1912.

Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

W. J. NEWTON.

SWITCH. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 15, 1912. I 1 ,094,806. Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

,UNITED STATES AiiArE'r'J? oFFIoE.

WILLIAM J. mw'rou, or LYNnuoox, New Your, AssrGN'ox. To nu'raoromrau- .nmsc'rnm no. co., n couronner or New Jansma SWITGH.

To all whom 'it may concern' Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. NEw'mN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynbrook, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, vhave invented certain new and usefl'l'l Improvements in' Switchesof which the following is a full, clear, an exact description.

This .invention electrical appliances in which contact ter` minals are housed vor located within a cass ing or receptacle and a circuit is complete by introducing into said casing or receptacle a member, which may beXcalled a plug, carrying corres nding terminals which thereby engage e terminails in the A familiar form of such an appliance isv known in the art as a I'ilug switch. De-l vices of` this character are subject to the disadvantage that while thecontacts in the receptacle portion are to a considerable eX- teht protected bythe casing and thefaceplate, they are neverthelessso placed as to be accessible to malicious, careless or heedless persons, who by inserting a foreign ofi`a child who may thrust its finger into the receptacle a severe shock may,l be experienced. Furthermore, inthe operation f of these devices, the plug which is' operated by hand is oftentimeslpushed into or pulled Vout --of the receptacle slowly erin ahesltating manner, which causes an arc to form between the contacts of the receptacle and those ofthe plug, which arc is often -a cause ofl serious fires..

The object of the present invention is so construct a deviceof this kind that the exposed contacts in the receptacle portion will not be alive .or receive current until the plugrportion has entered the receptacle and made fair and full Contact with .the contacts therein, and will become dead Jor devoid of current before the plug has beenv entirely removed from connection with the receptacle contacts. -In such adevice no arc can'form either upon the entry or Withdrawal of the plu and-the contacts of the receptacle will w en not in usc be dead.

My inventionlikewise has other of minor importance such as a cluaaap2 compact and simple construction which is efficient and sure in its operation.

Bpecicatien of Letten Patent. i Application tied November- I5, 1912. Serial No'. '31,520'. i e

insulating material.

Patented Apr. 28,(1914,

To these ends my invention consists *broadlyof a switching device of the charv acter above referred to in combination with an elect/ric switch adapted to vopen and close "by reason of therelative movementsy of the ytwo parts 'of the switching device.

More specifically, my invention. consists v l of the combination of a plug switch and relates to that class of opened by the insertion and removal of the plug and controlling the flow of current to another switch adapted to be closed and the contacts of the plug switch.

The invention further consists of certain combinations andconstructions hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

Referring now .to the accompanying.

drawings wherein is shownone of the va- 'rions possible embodiments of. my invention,- Fig'ure l represents a partial longil'tudinal sectional elevation taken approximately 'on they median line of the device lshowing the face-plate in position; Fig..2

represents a longitudinal sectional elevation taken substantially on the median line of the receptacle and showing the plug member in place with a part broken away; Fig. 3 represents'a plan view of the vreceptacle 'with the facelate removed; and

Fig. 1 represents a si e sectional elevation of the device taken on the line of Simi-lar reference numerals refer to similar partsfin the various views of the drawin eferring now to the drawings in detail,

f there is shown a form of plug 'switch which .is substantially the same as that set forth in my reviens application, Serial No. 643,708, led Augustl2, 1911.' Only those features of the previous construction, which are important in connection with the present vinvention will,V therefore, now be described. The plug switch includes a receptacle, which comprises a base or body portion 1 conposed of rubber or other form of The base portion is rovided with asubstantiallyl rectangular rmterior chamber and has the customary .opening adapted to be covered by a faceplate l2. This face-plate is provided with inwardly swinging doors 3 through which the contact or.plug member 4 '(as shown 1n Figs. Q'and 4) is adapted topass.-

Current is adapted to be led into the receptacle through` the binding screws 5, as

shown more clearly in Fig. 3, which are disposed adjacent the opening of the receptacle at diagonally opposite corners. The bindingscrews pass through the overturned extremities 6 of conductors which extend along the inner wall of the receptacle toward the rearJ wall thereof. At or near the middle part of the upright portion 7 of each of'these conductors is a-bracket 8 which extends outwardly therefrom in a plane substantially parallel to the adjacent side wall of the receptacle. Supported by the brackets 8 is a two-pole switch, and since each of the blades 9, 9 of this switch and its associated parts are substantially the same,y it is be-` lieved that a description `of one will suiice for the other. This two-pole switch is adaptedI to quickly make and break and thereby control the circuit to the contacts in the receptacle by a construct-ion hereinafter y set forth.

bladef9p is pivotally attached a lever 11 which, with its associated parts, is adapted to provide a snap-switch action to the blade 9. This lever 11 is provided with avstirrupshaped member 12at oney extremity thereof and the stirrup embraces the adjacent end of the blade 9. Through the stirrup and the Vextremity of the blade passes a pin 13 servf ing to pivot the parts together. The end of the lever 11 opposite the stirrup member passes through an aperture in swivel block 14 which is pivotally attached to the adjacent bracket by the pin .15. The lever 11 is adapted to reciprocate through the aperture Y in the swivel block when the blade 9 moves. VBetween the swivel block and the stirrup member and coiled about the lever is a helical spring 15. A V-shaped plate 16 is also pivoted near its vertex about the pin 10'and is provided with alaterally-projecting lug 17 and a second shorter laterally projecting lug A18, the lugs being on the opposite diverging sides of the plate remote from the vertex. These two lugs serve to contact with opposite edges'of the blade 9 at points adjacent the center thereof, for 'a' purpose which will be hereinafter more specifically pointed out. The V-shaped plate is provided with an apertured tail-piece 19, through the aperture of which passes one end of a spring member 20'the opposite end of which is connected to the conductor-foot 21 which extends outwardly along the botytomfwall ofthe receptacle from the body portion 7 'of the conductor, through which :current for the device passes. The end of 'fthe blade 9 opposite the pivoted end springs :freelywand is limited in its upward motion by means of a pin 22 which is attached to the side wall of the receptacle.

As described in my previous application,

The plug 4 is provided with a hollow por-,

tion 28 which is provided with contacts 29 on the interior thereof adapted to contact with the terminals 24 as heretofore described in connection with my other application.

In operating the present device, the plug is forced yintro the receptacle through the doors 3 and after it has advanced well. over the boss-23 and made good-contact with the terminals 24, the lower edges engage with the laterally-projecting lugs 17, having passed the lugs 18, which are shorter. And upon further movement into the interior of the receptacle, these lugs 17 are forced downwardly against the action of the spring 20 until the lugs 18 come in contact with the -blades 9. Thereupon the blade begins to move downwardly at a rate vdependent upc-n the inward motion of the' plug, but when the blade has swung the pivoted lever 11 about the pin 15 until the pivot pins 10, 13 and 15 are just beyond alinement, the snap switch action of these parts will come into play and will snap the blade 9 rapidly into contact with the jaw 27. Current will thereupon flow through a circuit from binding screw 5 through blade 9, jaw 27, conduce tors 26, 25 and 24 and the circuit will be completed by passage through the similar,

set of conductors to the diagonally opposite binding-post. The two-pole` switch is thenincluded in this circuit in the receptacle and upon movement therein is adapted'to make and break this circuit. The general actionof the snap switch is of course well known and in`this instance is brought about by the compression of the spring 15 between thestirrup member andthe base block. This spring action, acting through the pivot pin v13, throws the blade 9 rapidly about the' not cause an arc to form between them and the plug, because terminals 24 do not receive current until the plug has entered into good contact therewith.

Upon retraction of the Aplugfthe action ofthe parts is substantially reversed, the V- shaped plate being gradually raised t3; the spring 20 until the lug 17 contacts wi the blades 9, thereby raisng'the blades 9. Upon in diagonally oppositev corners.

this reverse movement of the blades the springs 15 are again compressed and when the point \of alinement of the pivot pins is slightly exceeded, the springs provide the snap switch action for the reverse direction. )This ac tion takes place before the contacts of the plug have severed' their connection with contacts 24, so that at the instant this separation takes place the contacts 24 are dead and no arc can form.

It win be noted in connection with the' device that the blades 9 are pivoted at opposite ends so that the free ends swing 1n' opposite directions and the jaws which coact with the blades are located consequently Bythus removing the contact members to points as remote from each other as possible in the receptacle and out of alinement with the opening in the face-plate, the chance for short-circuiting by the insertion of an instrument is substantially overcome. In connection with the V-shaped plate and the lugs attached, it will be noted that by providing the longer lugs on that side of the plate which is`remote from the face-plate, the plug may travel into the receptacle 'a much` longer distance than would be possible iE the lug 18 were the longer and contacted with the lower edges of the plug. It will thus be seen that the invention admirably achieves the objectssought.

` As many ap arently widely diferentlembodiments of t invention might be made without. departin from the scope thereof, it is intended t at all matter contained therein shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Having thus described my claim 1. In combination, a receptacle provided with a pair of interior contacts,4 a hollow invention, I

plug containing on its interior-a pair of contacts corresponding to those in the receptacle, and 'an electric switch located within the receptacle and having its` movable member in the ath of travel of the wall of said plug where y the plug is adapted to actuate the switch. 'f

2. A receptacle provided with a rectangular internal lug'project-ing from its bottom,

two contacts located against opposite aceso In witness whereof, I subscribe my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

. WILLIAM J. NEWTON. W itnesses:

WALDo M. CHAPIN, IDA M. PA'rrERsoN. 

